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I'd be surprised if you don't tell small lies in 'conversational mode'. In natural speech, people generally make simplifications that edge towards oversimplifi
by ronaldx 13y ago
I'd be surprised if you don't tell small lies in 'conversational mode'.
In natural speech, people generally make simplifications that edge towards oversimplification, or omissions that could be considered misleading if the omission is not fully understood by both parties, or false statements just because of a personal misconception (perhaps only realised later). That's a natural part of communicating at a reasonable speed.
Eliminating those occasions takes real effort towards communicating well.
Perhaps you don't consider those "lying" as such, because they're not deliberate attempts to mislead. But the boundary between these and deliberate "lying" is blurred. Your motivation for communicating with these shortcuts is a deliberate choice that is worth reconsidering occasionally.
If you can avoid those white-type lies 100% of the time, I applaud you. I don't think it's easy and few people manage it.
- baddox 13y agoI don't feel like I actively avoid white lies, but I can't think of many that I've told recently. When I was a kid, sure, I'd lie to my parents about little things, and in school I would invent or exaggerate excuses for late assignments, etc. But now I don't feel like there's much need to do that. Of course, when you get into simplification and omission, things get more complicated. I've absolutely simplified basic things like where I'm from, or the exact timeline of my education, etc. And every time I say anything, I'm omitting, well, everyone that I don't say. The line there is definitely blurry.